By Zenaide Jones
Lisbon may breathe history, but fresh winds are blowing through it.
The castles, palaces and monasteries which evoke the grander past of discovery and royalty are beautiful indeed, but the city also has its pulsating, modern side.
Its new architecture, shopping, nightlife and its fashionable people make it a pleasure to visit. It helps that most people speak English, that the public transport is so efficient, even though everything seems to be within walking distance, and - for me - that you can still smoke in restaurants.
Of course, this being my third visit to the Portuguese capital, I was a little too cocky about showing off my familiarity with the language. I blithely kept asking waiters for the colour grey (cinzento) instead of an ashtray (cinzeiro). Anyway, they knew what I meant.
Lisbon is best seen from the vantage point of Castelo de S�o Jorge (St George’s Castle) built on one of its seven hills.
The castle itself isn’t much to look at, but it gives you an incredible view of the city: the terracotta rooftops, the squares and statues, the huge suspension bridge across the Tagus River and the statue of Jesus, with arms outstretched, on the opposite bank.
I then wandered down the hill to the narrow, cobblestoned street of Lisbon’s old quarter, Alfama, peering into antique shops and salivating in front of pastry shops.
Taking my cue from that, and Portugal’s boast that it is a country where it is not a sin to eat, I went to lunch in the Pra�a do Comercio, a square in the heart of the city.
Lisbon is best seen from the vantage point of Castelo de S�o Jorge
The Cafe Martinho da Arcada, where I opted for traditional cuisine, is the oldest restaurant in Lisbon (founded in 1782 as a cafe) and its walls are covered in photographs of Fernando Pessoa, one of the country’s most famous and beloved poets who, I discovered, was educated in South Africa.
Pessoa is buried in the Monastery of Jeronimos, probably Lisbon’s most beautiful monument and a masterpiece of Manueline architecture (the Portuguese version of Gothic). The building houses the tombs of two other national heroes, Vasco da Gama and the poet Luis Vaz de Camoes.
You’ll find the monastery at Belem, a lovely park-like area to the west of the city, containing many monuments to past glories. Shaped like a caravel, the Monument to the Discoveries was built to commemorate the early Portuguese voyages. Nearby is Belem Tower, which Unesco has classified as a World Heritage Site. Originally built in 1520 to defend Lisbon against invaders, it juts into the river.
Another statue commemorates the first crossing of the south Atlantic, from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, by two Portuguese aviators in 1922.
Also worth a visit is the Belem Cultural Centre - which houses a design museum and presents interesting temporary exhibitions - as well as the coach and maritime museums.
Having overdosed on culture and history, I spent the next day at the Park of Nations built for the World Expo. It has a virtual reality and a knowledge pavilion and an impressive oceanarium.
Belem Tower, which Unesco has classified as a World Heritage Site
The next day I took a 45-minute drive to Sintra, where the Portuguese royal family used to summer. It has beautiful gardens, parks and mansions and is home to one of the strangest buildings I have ever seen. Pena Palace, built on a forested hill, is a fairytale-like Gothic palace with so much colour and adornment it has been variously described as a Disney-like folly and a Bavarian nightmare.
According to legend, King Manuel I was out hunting one day when he spotted Vasco da Gama’s fleet returning from their first voyage to India. To give thanks for a successful expedition, the king ordered a convent built on that spot. Three centuries later, on the remains of the convent, Prince Consort Ferdinand of Saxe Coburg-Gotha built the palace.
Equally fascinating is Quinta da Regaleira, an estate which resonates with references to the occult, the esoteric and freemasonry. The magic and mysticism are evident in the gardens as well, with secret tunnels, wells and grottoes.
I stopped briefly at Hotel Lawrence, the oldest hotel on the Iberian Peninsula, founded in 1764 by an Englishwoman. It is more famous, though, for having hosted such literary figures as Lord Byron.
I got chatting to the receptionist, who used to live in South Africa. She said the thing she most missed about life here was twilight. Apparently in Portugal it is day and suddenly it is night - there are no beautiful sunsets in between.
Interestingly, at my next stop, I encountered more signs of South African life.
All around me as I stood on the cliffs at Cape Roca - the westernmost point in Europe - were the little yellow flowers of Carpobrotus edulis, commonly known as Hottentot’s figs.
Introduced from South Africa to control dune erosion, the species has invaded the coastline to such an extent that it has almost obliterated native vegetation.
North of Sintra, I visited another outrageously extravagant building: the baroque National Palace and Convent at Mafra.
Its construction, which took more than 20 years, involved 52000 men, most of whom were recruited by force and kept in line by 7000 soldiers.
Altogether, 94250kg of gold and diamonds, 4785kg of silver and 229130kg of copper were used in building it. Needless to say, it destroyed the economy.
Only briefly used by the royal family, the palace has 1200 rooms and one of the largest domes in the world.
The library, which houses bats to keep the insect population down, contains 40 000 leather-bound books. Stunning!
I spent my last day at the jetset resorts of Estoril and Cascais, looking over the beaches, the palm-lined walks, the countless golf courses and the luxury hotels. One of them, Hotel Palacio in Estoril, looked from the outside like the hotel from The Shining and the prices were just as scary - R2000 a night for the tiniest room.
Built with all the elegance of a typical European grand hotel, it has sheltered many exiled members of European royalty over the years and was spy headquarters for the Allies during World War 2. If only the walls could talk!
I read somewhere that Graham Greene and Ian Fleming went undercover in Estoril during the war and Estoril Casino was Fleming’s inspiration for Casino Royale.
The casino is Europe’s largest but it’s just a boring square and doesn’t have the style of ours. Still, I managed to win six euros (R60) in five minutes so I can’t complain.
After visiting the Estoril coast, I’m amazed anyone still goes to the Algarve. Though it may be beautiful and sunny practically all year round, it has turned into a foreign conclave. With its British pubs and German restaurants and scant space on the beach, there seems to be so little authentically Portuguese about it, whereas you get culture and leisure in perfect proportions when visiting Lisbon and the Estoril and Sintra coast.
ian fleming,vantage point
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